Bunny Boiler Bites Back: Awakening remake of the hit 1987 film Fatal Attraction
- The 1987 film starred Glenn Close and Michael Douglas as unhappy lovers
- Lizzy Caplan and Joshua Jackson take on #MeToo-influenced TV remake
- The focus is on the abusive husband’s disregard for the vulnerable lover
Fatal Attraction should get an “awakened” makeover – told from the point of view of the rabbit cauldron.
The reboot of the gripping tale of an unfaithful husband and his vengeful lover that shocked audiences 35 years ago may not even feature the grisly death of a pet rabbit.
The 1987 film starred Glenn Close and Michael Douglas as hapless lovers, obsessive Alex Forrest and New York attorney Dan Gallagher played in the TV remake of Lizzy Caplan and Joshua Jackson.
When Fatal Attraction returns next year on Paramount+ in eight hour-long episodes, the abusive husband’s callous disregard for his vulnerable lover will be the focus of the #MeToo-influenced update.
Joshua Jackson (right) and Lizzy Caplan (left) shoot for the new series Fatal Attraction, based on the provocative 1987 film of the same name, starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close
“It will explore deadly attraction and the timeless themes of marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes towards strong women, personality disorders and coercive control,” the streaming service said.
Scenes filmed in Los Angeles earlier this year, in which Jackson’s character walks along a beach with his golden retriever, have also sparked speculation that Dan’s dog could replace his daughter’s rabbit as the victim of Alex’s wrath.
Ms. Caplan, who made her name in 2004’s Mean Girls, says the updated version “shows some progress,” adding, “You could never do the 1980s version of it now.”
While the original focused on Alex Forrest’s thirst for revenge, the remake explores Dan Gallagher’s callous abuse and “ghosting” of a damaged woman he uses and dumps.
The reboot of the gripping tale of an unfaithful husband and his vengeful lover that shocked audiences 35 years ago may not even feature the grisly death of a pet rabbit. Pictured: Michael Douglas (left) and Glenn Close (right) in the 1987 original
“The original film is still great,” Ms. Caplan told Grazia USA. “It’s still scary and makes you ask big questions.
“But the audience saw it from the perspective of the 1980s – this amazing guy makes a mistake and this horrible woman is trying to ruin his life.”
Nicole Clemens, executive director of Paramount+, says the story has “so far only been told from a male point of view.” The remake, she adds, “will bring a new generation to the next explosive chapter in this story, with a balanced look at the complexities of the human psyche.”
The producers may also revive the alternate ending that was filmed for the original but scrapped, in which Alex cuts her throat and bleeds to death to frame Dan for her murder.
Glenn Close hated the film’s ending, which portrayed Alex as a psychopath, telling interviewers, “I played a deranged, fragile human being that I had come to love.”